The Associated Press and the National Journal have corrected erroneous stories they ran about Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), misquoting a remark that he made at an anti-abortion rally.

On Wednesday at the Susan B. Anthony List “Campaign for Life Gala and Summit,” Cruz reminded his audience that pro-abortion advocates had chanted “Hail to Satan” last year at a rally in Austin Texas. The AP attributed to Cruz a remark that said abortion rights activists were “Satan Worshipers.”

The AP article, written by Philip Elliott, was corrected on Thursday and re-printed with Cruz’s actual statement. Significantly, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll published this month, Cruz is a strong contender for the 2016 Republican presidential election and is capturing 50% of conservative Republicans and 46% of white evangelical Protestants.

The National Journal, which printed a story based on the AP article, also corrected the misstatement. Moreover, the Journal interviewed the communications director of the Satanic Temple, Lucien Greaves, to get his take on the events. Greaves insisted that “Hail Satan” chants were designed to combat antiabortion protesters who were singing “Amazing Grace.” He added, “Chanting ‘Hail Satan’ was an effective way of saying, ‘You are going to have to argue your point on rational grounds. We do not subscribe to your religion.'”

Greaves doesn’t think that abortion rights should be linked with Satanism and that the act was a thumbing of the nose at religious conservatives rather than a form of devil worship. “As homosexuals, pro-choice advocates, and others are ostracized by mainstream churches, more and more people conscientiously embrace Satanism as a metaphor for their rejection of oppressive religious cruelty,” he said.